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Post by claremont on Oct 18, 2023 1:41:38 GMT
I'd like to see them recall Armia over playing Pearson to be honest. Recalling Roy would be more exciting but there's no need to rush him up after one good week. Ideally, Heineman would have been the replacement but given he's not available, I'd take Armia over Pearson any day... Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky RHP-Monahan-Ylonen Armia-Newhook-Anderson Pezzetta-Evans-Gallagher Beginners luck for Pearson? Two goals in 3 games. Took Armia 26 games last year to get his first goal. We’ve given enough chances to Armia - let’s wait 10 -15 games before removing Pearson from this chair |
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Post by BigTed3 on Oct 18, 2023 9:39:31 GMT
I'd like to see them recall Armia over playing Pearson to be honest. Recalling Roy would be more exciting but there's no need to rush him up after one good week. Ideally, Heineman would have been the replacement but given he's not available, I'd take Armia over Pearson any day... Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky RHP-Monahan-Ylonen Armia-Newhook-Anderson Pezzetta-Evans-Gallagher Beginners luck for Pearson? Two goals in 3 games. Took Armia 26 games last year to get his first goal. We’ve given enough chances to Armia - let’s wait 10 -15 games before removing Pearson from this chair I posted about that earlier this week... Pearson's coming off a big injury, so it's possible we'll see a turnaround in his game as he gets back up to full fitness. That said, he's over 30 and he looks like he's struggling to keep up with the pace of the game, just like Gallagher. So I have concerns about how much success he can have, especially in the top 9. I had similar concerns about Corey Perry and he proved me wrong, but the differences there were
1. He mainly played the 4th line 2. He was effective on the PP 3. He showed up as an asset in the playoffs more than anything, something this Habs team isn't likely to be getting the opportunity to do this year
We've seen these older guys come in frequently in recent years... Briere, Parenteau, Streit's 2nd stint with us, Plekanec's 2nd stint with us, Bouillon's 2nd stint with us, Kaberle, Semin, Dadonov, Staal, Hoffman for a longer stay, etc. For the most part, these have been guys who are past prime by the time they get here but where we've held the belief they're going to be able to bring their level of play back close to what it was before. Most of these players have had a negative impact on the roster's performance, with Perry being one of the few exceptions. So I think Habs fans have earned the right to be skeptical about what Pearson will bring over the long haul here. Even his goal yesterday, while a great shot, was a play where he looked really awkward carrying the puck up ice and kind of got left alone unchallenged. Outside of the shot he made, it was bad defence more than anything. Now in his defence, he ended up being one of the better players in our line-up last night (outside of when he and Xhekaj combined to pop one in our own net), but I just don't see him as a viable top 6 player and probably not a top 9 player. He can perhaps be a 4th liner as long as Gallagher isn't also in the line-up. Otherwise, that's too much dead weight, akin to when we tried to slip Dadonov and Hoffman and Drouin in together last year.
To boot, I really didn't see why we bothered to acquire Pearson. Sure, we didn't need DeSmith, but his salary hit hurt us less than Pearson's, and if DeSmith got waived to Laval or claimed, that's honestly not the end of the world. Laval could probably have used a veteran goalie at this point to help Dobes, and Pearson being here ended up actively blocking Emil Heineman from making the roster. As I said, if Heineman were healthy now, he would have been my call-up. But past that, I wouldn't rush the likes of Roy just yet, and I feel like Armia brings more to the line-up in terms of defensive ability, physicality and puck protection, and skating ability than Pearson. Sure, he isn't a prolific scorer, but the skill for him to be is there, he's just never found any consistency in that regard. And while he's never scored more than 16 goals in a season, those 16 goals were in 58 games (pro-rates to 23 over 82 games). For his career, he's averaging 14 goals over 82 games, which is actually quite decent for a guy who plays in the bottom 6 and mainly the 4th line. Considering the other elements he brings, I think he's easily the more well-rounded player, and a lot of the negative about him is similar to what Scott Gomez faced when he was here... it's based on fan perception. People view Armia as a former 1st rounder with size and skating who was meant to be a better offensive player than he is. They see him as a guy who got a long-term contract for more money than he was worth. But that's not really his fault. Remove salary from the equation and remove the expectations for what his pedigree was supposed to be and I think he's a better performer than a few guys we kept on the roster.
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Post by BigTed3 on Oct 29, 2023 2:52:10 GMT
Not loving the Newhook line. It's looked lost since Dach went down. Newhook is not a dominant center. He's fast. He can finish a bit around the net. But he doesn't win a lot of pucks, he doesn't control the middle of the ice, and he's bad at faceoffs to boot. I just think that line needs to be blown up, and until Dvorak is back, I'd slide Newhook down the line-up and eventually back to wing. At the same time, I haven't overwhelmingly loved RHP or Anderson next to Caufield and Suzuki either. So why not give Slafkovsky a try on the first line? I'd try
Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky
RHP-Monahan-Anderson
Pearson-Newhook-Ylonen
Pezzetta-Evans-Armia
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RCAF48
Captain Kirk
Posts: 453
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Post by RCAF48 on Oct 29, 2023 3:25:41 GMT
IMO the lines that Slaf could help are in Laval.  |
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Post by BigTed3 on Nov 8, 2023 2:02:02 GMT
As I mentioned in the GDT, the move that most needs to be made right now is the one I was pulling for in camp: splitting up Suzuki and Caufield. Need to get one of them an easier match-up. I'd like to keep Monahan with Slafkovsky, so
Caufield-Monahan-Slafkovsky
Newhook-Suzuki-RHP
Pearson-Dvorak-Ylonen
Pezzetta-Evans-Anderson
Gallagher, Armia
Matheson-Barron
Harris-Kovacevic
Guhle-Xhekaj
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Post by maasart on Nov 8, 2023 16:41:43 GMT
As I mentioned in the GDT, the move that most needs to be made right now is the one I was pulling for in camp: splitting up Suzuki and Caufield. Need to get one of them an easier match-up. I'd like to keep Monahan with Slafkovsky, so Caufield-Monahan-Slafkovsky Newhook-Suzuki-RHP Pearson-Dvorak-Ylonen Pezzetta-Evans-Anderson Gallagher, Armia Matheson-Barron Harris-Kovacevic Guhle-Xhekaj I really like those likes tbh. That said, i think Gallagher has earned a top 12 role this year again and I really think we need 1 more good option in the top 6. RHP, while i like him, is a step down from the other 5 imho. id almost be inclined to put Ylonen next to Suzuki & see what he can do. he's shown he has reallly soft hands, just not sure about the overall hockey sense yet. Also, what the heck is up with Matheson? Is he playing hurt? He does not look good at all this year & yesterday looked downright uninterested. |
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RCAF48
Captain Kirk
Posts: 453
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Post by RCAF48 on Nov 8, 2023 17:08:51 GMT
Dressing Ylonen over Gallagher and pushing Guhle down the lineup..................no thanks.
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Post by BigTed3 on Nov 8, 2023 17:53:14 GMT
As I mentioned in the GDT, the move that most needs to be made right now is the one I was pulling for in camp: splitting up Suzuki and Caufield. Need to get one of them an easier match-up. I'd like to keep Monahan with Slafkovsky, so Caufield-Monahan-Slafkovsky Newhook-Suzuki-RHP Pearson-Dvorak-Ylonen Pezzetta-Evans-Anderson Gallagher, Armia Matheson-Barron Harris-Kovacevic Guhle-Xhekaj I really like those likes tbh. That said, i think Gallagher has earned a top 12 role this year again and I really think we need 1 more good option in the top 6. RHP, while i like him, is a step down from the other 5 imho. id almost be inclined to put Ylonen next to Suzuki & see what he can do. he's shown he has reallly soft hands, just not sure about the overall hockey sense yet. Also, what the heck is up with Matheson? Is he playing hurt? He does not look good at all this year & yesterday looked downright uninterested. Dressing Ylonen over Gallagher and pushing Guhle down the lineup..................no thanks.
1. I don't have the D pairings separated by how much ice time I'd give them, just by partners. I don't think any of the three pairings is necessarily head and shoulders above the others, but don't take that as Guhle being a 3rd-pairing guy. I think he's been our best D man so far this year.
2. As for Gallagher, I get that he's played well enough to stay in the line-up, but frankly we have too many wingers quantity-wise without having good enough quality. This was a major problem with trading for Pearson. I'd be fine with rotating guys in and out of the line-up, though I don't think Ylonen has done any worse than half the forwards in the line-up to deserve to sit as much as he has and the same goes for Pezzetta. My goal was to put players in roles that I think fit them. I've described why I'd want to pair Monahan with Slafkovsky and why it makes sense to me to split Suzuki and Caufield. Newhook needs to play wing, he's essentially been a lot like a Jonathan Drouin 2.0 since he got here. Skilled and a good skater but not very good defensively and lacking in awareness on the ice and muscled off the puck easily. RHP has earned a spot next to Suzuki based on past performances IMO, though I'd be equally fine with trying Ylonen there too. In Anderson's case, I'm wondering whether a bottom 6 role on an energy line might work out better for him. Put him in a role where the name of the game is forechecking, skating hard, finishing checks, and just throwing pucks at the net to crash and bang. Maybe that gets him back on track if we simplify his game, instead of asking him to keep up with the likes of Suzuki or Monahan in terms of ability to process the game at a high level. Ultimately, I ran out of room to include Gallagher and Armia on the right wing. I don't think either guy will be traded, so they're stuck here but we know what they can do already. I'm more compelled to use the spots to evaluate younger guys (Slaf, Newhook, Ylonen, RHP) and know what they can do in a year that doesn't matter much, as well as to showcase players who could potentially be traded (Anderson, Pearson, Monahan, Dvorak). Finding ice time for Gallagher or Armia is simply less of a priority if I'm running the team effectively, and in any case, Gallagher could probably use a more spaced-out schedule to try and preserve his fragile health.
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Post by BigTed3 on Nov 10, 2023 3:49:08 GMT
One game only, but feeling vindicated that Suzuki and Caufield both seemed to have better games playing apart from each other. Would have preferred to see Monahan between CC adn Slaf, but it's a start. I think this forces the opposition to choose who to mark more closely. That said, as I've said before, there's good depth at wing but an ongoing lack of true top 6 forwards. The top end of that line-up has to be better to provide options to pair with those players. Maybe Heineman becomes an option later in the year, but we need more scoring ability in the top 9.
On D, can we get Harris off the right side? I like Harris, but I strongly dislike playing him on the right. He's way worse there than on the left. I get that the Habs have 4 lefty D men and only 2 righties, but they need to solve that problem. I'd prefer to see Xhekaj moved to the right when his game is predicated more on physicality, while Harris' is more based around moving the puck quickly (something that takes a big hit when you have to make an extra movement to line up your breakouts). Ultimately, the Habs need to find a 3rd RHD who can play and move someone off the left in a trade...
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Post by claremont on Nov 10, 2023 14:58:06 GMT
One game only, but feeling vindicated that Suzuki and Caufield both seemed to have better games playing apart from each other. Would have preferred to see Monahan between CC adn Slaf, but it's a start. I think this forces the opposition to choose who to mark more closely. That said, as I've said before, there's good depth at wing but an ongoing lack of true top 6 forwards. The top end of that line-up has to be better to provide options to pair with those players. Maybe Heineman becomes an option later in the year, but we need more scoring ability in the top 9. On D, can we get Harris off the right side? I like Harris, but I strongly dislike playing him on the right. He's way worse there than on the left. I get that the Habs have 4 lefty D men and only 2 righties, but they need to solve that problem. I'd prefer to see Xhekaj moved to the right when his game is predicated more on physicality, while Harris' is more based around moving the puck quickly (something that takes a big hit when you have to make an extra movement to line up your breakouts). Ultimately, the Habs need to find a 3rd RHD who can play and move someone off the left in a trade... Spot on re; Harris. I mentioned in another thread that I thought he had the sophomore jinx, and was taking a couple of penalties. Then I realized he is playing his off side. As slow as Savard is, we do miss him back there for his presence and shot blocking. Barron and Kovacevic have been ok so far, but the faster a Mailloux or Reinbacher, can arrive and shore up this RHD side, the sooner we can accelerate an upswing in defensive play. |
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Post by BigTed3 on Dec 1, 2023 23:09:50 GMT
With Newhook looking like he'll miss time and Stephens the next man up, this is what I would personally go with:
Slafkovsky-Monahan-Caufield
Pearson-Suzuki-Ylonen
Stephens-Dvorak-Gallagher
Armia-Evans-Anderson
What I think they will do instead:
Monahan-Suzuki-Caufield
Slafkovsky-Dvorak-Gallagher
Pearson-Evans-Anderson
Pezzetta-Stephens-Ylonen
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Post by maasart on Dec 2, 2023 0:48:14 GMT
With Newhook looking like he'll miss time and Stephens the next man up, this is what I would personally go with: Slafkovsky-Monahan-Caufield Pearson-Suzuki-Ylonen Stephens-Dvorak-Gallagher Armia-Evans-Anderson What I think they will do instead: Monahan-Suzuki-Caufield Slafkovsky-Dvorak-Gallagher Pearson-Evans-Anderson Pezzetta-Stephens-Ylonen I like your lines & i definitely wouldnt even consider Monahan anywhere other than at centre right now. I do think MLS will keep Caufield and Slaf together as they are both getting a lot of nice looks & developing some chemistry. I could actually see them doing: Slafkovsky - Suzuki - Caufield Pearson - Monahan - Gallagher Stephens - Dvo - Anderson Armia - Evans - Ylonen Not necessarily my choice but i i think there's a high probability Slaf/CC stay together & I could see MSL reuniting them with Suzuki. |
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Post by BigTed3 on Dec 10, 2023 1:43:34 GMT
The forward group might be short again if Pearson remains out, but the D is looking like it might be bursting at the seams. Savard has indicated he's aiming to be back next Wednesday. Barron is out indefinitely and Xhekaj is churning in the minors. Norlinder can't even get a game in because of how well Struble has played. So when Savard comes back, it's likely that Norlinder goes back down and Lindstrom becomes the 7th D man. But what happens to Xhekaj? I've said many times this year that he's been shaky defensively and would benefit from spending some time in Laval, but he already seems to be pouting about his demotion and the Habs really don't have much physical presence in their line-up. So is Xhekaj in Laval to stay? If he's recalled, is he just being recalled to be the #7 the way Norlinder is? What happens if Harris is able to come back? And all this is without Hutson or Engstrom in the mix. Seeming more and more to me that at least two of Matheson, Guhle, Harris, and Xhekaj won't be here in two years.
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Post by HTL on Dec 10, 2023 1:54:11 GMT
The forward group might be short again if Pearson remains out, but the D is looking like it might be bursting at the seams. Savard has indicated he's aiming to be back next Wednesday. Barron is out indefinitely and Xhekaj is churning in the minors. Norlinder can't even get a game in because of how well Struble has played. So when Savard comes back, it's likely that Norlinder goes back down and Lindstrom becomes the 7th D man. But what happens to Xhekaj? I've said many times this year that he's been shaky defensively and would benefit from spending some time in Laval, but he already seems to be pouting about his demotion and the Habs really don't have much physical presence in their line-up. So is Xhekaj in Laval to stay? If he's recalled, is he just being recalled to be the #7 the way Norlinder is? What happens if Harris is able to come back? And all this is without Hutson or Engstrom in the mix. Seeming more and more to me that at least two of Matheson, Guhle, Harris, and Xhekaj won't be here in two years. I'm thinking a goaltender and a D package is likely in the works. Possibly before the Christmas trade ban in place. |
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Post by maasart on Dec 11, 2023 22:11:15 GMT
The forward group might be short again if Pearson remains out, but the D is looking like it might be bursting at the seams. Savard has indicated he's aiming to be back next Wednesday. Barron is out indefinitely and Xhekaj is churning in the minors. Norlinder can't even get a game in because of how well Struble has played. So when Savard comes back, it's likely that Norlinder goes back down and Lindstrom becomes the 7th D man. But what happens to Xhekaj? I've said many times this year that he's been shaky defensively and would benefit from spending some time in Laval, but he already seems to be pouting about his demotion and the Habs really don't have much physical presence in their line-up. So is Xhekaj in Laval to stay? If he's recalled, is he just being recalled to be the #7 the way Norlinder is? What happens if Harris is able to come back? And all this is without Hutson or Engstrom in the mix. Seeming more and more to me that at least two of Matheson, Guhle, Harris, and Xhekaj won't be here in two years. I'm thinking a goaltender and a D package is likely in the works. Possibly before the Christmas trade ban in place. Thats my gut too. Really curious about who we move though. Do we dump a vet like Savard or do we move a kid? I also wonder if a guy like Monahan may get moved sooner rather than later. Teams may need him now & not be able to wait till the trade deadline. It may be an interesting couple of weeks. I think Goal & D need to be addressed pretty quickly though. |
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Post by ramcharger440 on Dec 11, 2023 22:18:12 GMT
Been saying this for a while now! time to make some kind of move.
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Post by maasart on Dec 13, 2023 0:18:55 GMT
If SlafCaufZuki dont start putting in points soon, id try to tweak the top nine just a bit
Slaf - Monahan - CC
Anderson - Suzuki - Ylonen
It wont happen since MSL seems to think Evans and Dvo are better cetnres than Monahan (no idea why) but id definitely keep CC and Slaf together as they are slowing buildings some really nice chemistry. Im not sure Nick is the right guy to balance that out, despite him being our best centre.
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Post by ChiLla on Dec 13, 2023 13:57:34 GMT
If SlafCaufZuki dont start putting in points soon, id try to tweak the top nine just a bit Slaf - Monahan - CC Anderson - Suzuki - Ylonen It wont happen since MSL seems to think Evans and Dvo are better cetnres than Monahan (no idea why) but id definitely keep CC and Slaf together as they are slowing buildings some really nice chemistry. Im not sure Nick is the right guy to balance that out, despite him being our best centre.
It's really unfortuante that we've been firing blanks for a while. That line was really good and playing with Caufield and Suzuki brought out the best we've seen from Slafkovsky so far. They could have easily had 4-5 points each in those games...
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Post by BigTed3 on Feb 21, 2024 1:02:01 GMT
This is probably going to be a take that people hate, but I'll spit it out anyways... the last 25-30 games of the season here should be about figuring out what works and what doesn't work. They should be about developing younger players and accumulating information. And to some degree, if you can bolster trade value for guys you want to deal in the next two weeks, that also helps. With that in mind, I think the Habs need to consider splitting up their top line. We know it's working. They play well together. But... the bigger question for me is whether these three guys are going to stick together next year or if one of them is going to be pulled away from the other two. Will CC and Slaf be paired with Dach and Suzuki given new lineamtes? Or will one of the wingers be paired with Dach and the other stay with Suzuki? Now we know Caufield and Suzuki work together but really only IF they have a bigger winger to go with them and dominate possession, like Slaf or Dach. They haven't worked as well when they don't have that element, and they didn't work that well with a bigger guy who plays his game off the rush, like Anderson. So I think we have a book on CC-Suzuki already. What we don't have as much of a read on is how well Suzuki and Slafkovsky do without Caufield. I do wonder if that line needs to be split up next year to provide balance within the top 6 once Dach returns, and I think there's value in figuring out what Slaf and Suzuki can do without Caufield.
So what would I try?
Pearson-Suzuki-Slafkovsky
Caufield-Newhook-Armia
Roy-Gignac-Ylonen
Pezzetta-Evans-Anderson
Now for the why: I've detailed why I would split up the current Suzuki line. I think you could make an argument for trying Joshua Roy here too, and maybe that's something you do after the trade deadline. Maybe Heineman as another alternative. But for now, Pearson is a player you absolutely want to get some amount of return for at the deadline and right now, he's nearly worthless. If you can give him a two-week boost, maybe it encourages other teams to see he can play well with good linemates and you're able to recoup some value. I think there's a low downside to trying this. With Caufield, you want to try and find a second offensive line somewhere, and he'll likely draw easier match-ups away from the top line. Newhook is our only other respectable offensive player left to pair with him, and I chose Armia to put with them given how Caufield has benefited from playing with the likes of Dach and Slaf. With CC and Newhook, you have two smaller players who need a complement who can help them with puck protection.
Roy-Gignac-Ylonen gives you three younger players who could potentially be a bottom 6 line next year. And then the last line is also a line that could be a bottom 6 crash-and-bang forechecking line next year too. So as I said before, it's giving you information about what could work for the future.
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Post by ramcharger440 on Feb 21, 2024 2:18:13 GMT
So Gally and his huge contract and the fact he has an a on his shirt is not going to play? Not likely! he is a lost cause but there is no way they just leave him sitting!
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